© 2008 Universal Press Syndicate
release dates: November 8-14 45-1 (08)
from The Mini Page © 2008 Universal Press Syndicate
BETTY DEBNAM – Founding Editor and Editor at Large
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from The Mini Page © 2008 Universal Press Syndicate
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Some of the most glorious places onEarth belong to you. These amazing sitesare all part of our national park system.
For Geography Awareness Week, Nov.16-22, The Mini Page takes you on a tourof some of America’s most beautiful andvaried natural sites.Denali
The highest mountain in North America,Mount McKinley, at 20,320 feet, is inDenali National Park and Preserve inAlaska. “Denali” means “high one” in thelanguage of the Athabascan native people.
Death ValleyThe hottest, driest and lowest spot in
North America is in Death ValleyNational Park in California. It hasdesert, snow-covered mountains andcanyons. Many of its plants cannot befound anywhere else in the world.
Dry Tortugas National ParkSeven islands made of coral reefs and
sand form the Dry Tortugas off the coastof Florida. “Tortugas” is Spanish for “seaturtles.” The islands were discovered byexplorer Ponce de Leon in 1513.
Carlsbad CavernsCarlsbad Caverns National Park is in
the Guadalupe Mountains, which runfrom west Texas into southeastern NewMexico. There are 113 known caves.
Tallgrass PrairieTallgrass prairie* once stretched from
what is now Indiana to Kansas, fromCanada to Texas. Now most of it is gone.*Prairie is a habitat made of grasses. Tallgrassprairies have grasses taller than a horse.
Spectacular Beauty
This Land Is Your Land
There are 6 million acres of wilderness inDenali National Park.
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Death Valley National Park is known for itsbadlands. Badlands are areas where littlegrows, but where wind and time have carvedfantastic sculptures into the land.
Althoughtheseislands aresurroundedby the sea,explorersnamedthem “dry”becausethey haveno freshwater fordrinking.
The Carlsbad Caverns were not formed byrunning water, as were most limestone caves.They were formed by dripping sulfuric acid.The caverns are also known for their largecolonies of swallows and bats.
This prairie is atHomesteadNationalMonument inNebraska. Mostof the remainingprairie is inTallgrass PrairieNational Preservein Kansas.
Mini Spy . . .from The Mini Page © 2008 Universal Press Syndicate
Mini Spy and Basset Brown are visiting Arches National Parkin Utah. See if you can find:
• horse’s head• duck • dolphin• camel • face• ladder • bell• whale • bird• letter A• pig • snail• elephant• slice of lemon• number 6• man in the
moon• word MINI
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ArchesArches National Park in Utah protects
more than 2,000 natural sandstone arches,the highest number in one area in the world.
Rocky Mountain National ParkThe Rocky Mountains run along the
Continental Divide.* The mountainswere made by volcanoes and shaped byglaciers over millions of years.*This is the line from which water on one sideeventually reaches the Atlantic Ocean, andwater on the other side reaches the Pacific.
YellowstoneYellowstone National Park, in Montana,
Wyoming and Idaho, is home to wildlifesuch as wolves and grizzly bears.
Little River CanyonLittle River flows for most of its
length on top of Lookout Mountain inAlabama.
More Amazing PlacesAssateague Island
Wind and waves are always buildingup or tearing down the land onAssateague (AS-a-teeg), off the shores ofVirginia and Maryland. Storms canchange the shoreline in a few hours.
Channel IslandsFive islands and the surrounding
ocean off the California coast make upChannel Islands National Park.
Words that remind us of our national parks are hidden in the block below.Some words are hidden backward or diagonally. See if you can find: LAND,SEA, MOUNTAINS, MISSISSIPPI, RIVER, ISLAND, SITE, DENALI, GRAND,CANYON, TORTUGAS, BADLANDS, CARLSBAD, YELLOWSTONE,ARCHES, FIR, KELP, SHORE, ICE, CORAL, FORESTS.
Geography WeekTRY ’NFIND
THERE’S A LOTTO SEE IN OUR
PARKS!
S R M N I P P I S S I S S I MI H I F O R E S T S D N A R GS S O V I K L S A G U T R O TL V I R E C W S D N A L D A BA W L T E R E R I F C O R A LN A E S E D N A L S E H C R AD I L A N E D D A B S L R A CN O Y N A C S N I A T N U O MP L E K E N O T S W O L L E Y
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Basset Brown
The News
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In ArchesNational Park,exposed rocksshow millions ofyears of naturalhistory.
At the top ofthe Rockies,the climate istoo harsheven for firtrees. Butother plantslive there.
Assateague is famous for its wild horses.They are the descendants of horses broughtover by Colonists in the 1600s.
Yellowstone is best known for its hot springsand geysers (GUY-zers). A geyser is afountain of boiling water and steam.Yellowstone has more than 300 geysers,more than two-thirds of all geysers on Earth.
The kelp forest inthe ocean aroundthese islands providesa home for about1,000 types of animalsand plants. Kelp is atype of large seaweedthat grows deepbelow the surface ofthe sea.
Hiking,horsebackriding, canoeingand kayakingare top activitiesat Little RiverCanyon NationalPreserve.
Rookie Cookie’s RecipeOven-Roasted Potatoes
from The Mini Page © 2008 Universal Press Syndicate
from The Mini Page © 2008 Universal Press Syndicate
Meet Ashley TisdaleAshley Tisdale stars as Sharpay Evans in
the Disney movie “High School Musical 3:Senior Year.” She has appeared in the same rolein the previous “High School Musical” movies.
Ashley has also acted in TV shows, including“The Suite Life of Zach & Cody,” “StillStanding” and “7th Heaven.” She is the voice ofCandice in the Disney cartoon series “Phineasand Ferb.”
Ashley, 23, was born in West Deal, N.J. Shefirst appeared on stage at a community center in her hometown.
A talent agent discovered her in a mall when she was 3 years old.She went on to appear in more than 100 commercials.
When she was 8, she toured with the international production ofthe musical “Les Miserables.” She later toured internationally withthe musical “Annie.” She sang at the White House when she was 12.
Ashley lives in Los Angeles with her dog, Blondie.
You’ll need:• 2 large russet potatoes• 2 tablespoons olive oil• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme• Salt and pepperWhat to do:1. Wash, peel and cut potatoes into wedges (like big french
fries).2. Place potato wedges in large bowl and coat with oil and then
sprinkle with thyme.3. Lay potato wedges in a single layer in a jelly roll baking pan
or one with edges.4. Bake for 30 minutes at 450 degrees. Turn after 15 minutes.*You will need an adult’s help with this recipe.
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Go dot to dot and color this _ _ _ _ _ _ flower. In whichnational park will you find this plant?
Gladys: What is a geologist’s favorite kind oftransportation?
Giselle: A rocket!
Geena: Where do geologists like to relax?George: In a rocking chair!
Greg: Where do geologists like to go forentertainment?
Gary: Rock ’n’ roll concerts!
All the following jokes have something in common.Can you guess the common theme or category?
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Answer:Thecactusflower isin SaguaroNationalPark.
from The Mini Page © 2008 Universal Press Syndicate
The Grand CanyonGrand Canyon National Park in
Arizona has deep canyons cut out by theColorado River over millions of years.Its layers of rock go down as far as6,000 feet.
The Mississippi RiverThe Mississippi is about 2,300 miles
long. The Mississippi National Riverand Recreation Area covers 72 miles inthe Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitanarea. These 72 miles are where the riverchanges from a quiet, medium-sizedriver to one of the largest and busiestrivers in the world.
Glacier BayGlacier Bay National Park in Alaska
was covered by ice just 200 years ago.The bay then was a small five-milebreak in a glacier that was 20 mileswide, 100 miles long and 4,000 feetthick in places. Only about one-fourth ofthat area is still under ice today.
Saguaro National ParkSaguaro National Park in Arizona
was formed toprotect thesaguaro cactus.The parkcovers desertand mountainareas. It ishome towildlife suchas gila (HEE-lah) monsters,kangaroorats androadrunners.
More Spectacular LandscapesThe Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands National Park hasexamples of most types of tropicalAtlantic sea and land habitats, includingcoral reefs and subtropical forests.
Hawai’i Volcanoes National ParkThe Hawaiian islands are about
2,000 miles from the nearest continent.They are the most isolated group ofislands on Earth. The island of Hawaiiis made up of five different volcanoes.
The Mini Page StaffBetty Debnam - Founding Editor and Editor at Large Lisa Tarry - Managing Editor Lucy Lien - Associate Editor Wendy Daley - Artist
The Grand Canyon has layers of rock datingfrom close to 2 billion years ago to today.The Earth itself is only 4.5 billion years old.
The Mississippi carries about 436,000 tonsof soil and rocks every day. About 18 millionpeople rely on the Mississippi and itsbranches for their water supply.
Next week The Mini Page is about head lice.
Sites to see: www.nps.govwww.nps.gov/webrangers
The Mini Page thanks Wyndeth V. Davis,education program coordinator, NationalPark Service, for help with this issue.
Look through your newspaper for pictures ofbeautiful areas.
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A visitor climbs inside a glacier. The retreat,or melting, of the glaciers has opened upmore land and water to wildlife. Forexample, since the early 1990s, the sea otterpopulation has grown from zero to 4,000.
The saguaro grows only inthis region of the U.S.
The Virgin Islands are popular vacationspots. However, visits there are ofteninterrupted by hurricanes from June toNovember.
Kilauea volcano has been continuouslyerupting for 25 years. It is fueled by moltenrock rising from 60 to 70 miles beneath theocean floor.
from The Mini Page © 2008 Universal Press Syndicate
Supersport: Anthony KimHeight: 5-10 Birthdate: 6-19-85Weight: 160 Residence: Dallas, Texas
With Tiger Woods missing from the PGA tour because ofan injury, pro golf needed some other players to createexcitement. Young Anthony Kim has done it, showingconfidence, passion and skill.
Not intimidated by the tour’s veterans, Kim has won twotournaments and produced eight top-10 finishes in his first 22 events.
When he captured the Wachovia championship at age 22, he was theyoungest player to claim a tour win since 2002.
He also made big waves by beating British Open champ PadraigHarrington in head-to-head Ryder Cup competition, a key win in the U.S.team’s drive to the title.
Before turning pro in 2006, Kim played at the University of Oklahomaand also made the Walker Cup team. His nickname is “AK,” which hedisplays on his belt buckles.
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